WASHINGTON DC - Attacks by Iran-aligned armed groups against the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces are “untenable,” US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack told Rudaw on Thursday, pledging continued support to Erbil, while criticizing the Iraqi government for not taking stronger action to prevent such assaults amid the ongoing regional conflict.
Six Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed and more than 20 others wounded in missile strikes targeting a base in Erbil province early Tuesday. The attack came as pro-Iran armed groups have carried out more than 450 strikes on alleged targets in the Region since the onset of the Iran-Israel-US war on February 28, according to Rudaw tracking.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Atlantic Council’s US Syrian Energy Symposium in Washington DC, Barrack condemned the attacks as “untenable,” adding that “the whole Iranian-backed militia [strategy] is untenable.”
He emphasized that the United States is “doing everything that we can to support in terms of personnel, armament, and equipment,” while censuring Baghdad’s limited response, saying Washington has urged Iraqi authorities to “weigh in stronger, harder, in a much more substantive way along with us.”
The top diplomat further added that he conveyed President Donald Trump’s “commitment to help” ensure the Kurdistan Region’s security to its leadership.
The US and Israel on February 28 launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran amid ongoing nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran. US Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Brad Cooper reported on Thursday that the operation, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, struck more than 10,000 targets across Iran, aiming to achieve “clear military objectives of eliminating Iran’s ability to project power in meaningful ways beyond its borders.”
In response, Tehran has continued to carry out drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, targeting alleged US assets in the region, particularly in Gulf Arab states, and has launched retaliatory attacks against Israel.
Iran’s response has also involved Iraqi armed groups aligned with the Tehran-led ‘Axis of Resistance,’ including militias claiming responsibility for attacks on alleged US targets in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Tuesday’s strike marked the deadliest attack so far, involving several missile strikes on a base for the Kurdish forces in Erbil.
An informed source, speaking to Rudaw on condition of anonymity, said Division 7 of the Peshmerga forces in Erbil’s Soran administration was hit, killing six fighters and injuring more than 20 others. Several of the wounded were transferred to hospitals in Soran and Erbil.
In a statement, Peshmerga Command Area One said the headquarters of Division 7 was struck twice - first at 1:50 am with five missiles, causing no casualties, and again at 2:50 am with a single missile. The statement did not specify casualties from the second strike.
A day later, on Wednesday, three Peshmerga fighters were wounded in two separate drone attacks on bases in Erbil and the eastern Sulaimani province, according to the Peshmerga Ministry.
Rudaw has learned that outlawed groups have carried out more than ten attacks on Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Peshmerga forces over the past three weeks.
The Peshmerga ministry had Sunday called on the federal government in Baghdad to rein in the groups responsible for the attacks.